"So," Ozpin started, "Salem is dead, all the members of her Inner Circle are either captured or also dead and the situation on the school grounds is more or less resolved. Where will you go from here, now?" He asked me.

It had been a couple hours after the attack and I'd been mostly hanging out with Velvet and her team while Ozpin dealt with the logistics involved in running damage control. Once he was done with all of that — assessing property damage and casualties, figuring out how to report what had gone down, delegating tasks to other people, and so on — he called me back to his office.

"I don't know. I'll probably just carry on like I have been, just with less stress over there being an unkillable monster after me. Why do you ask?" I said.

"Because only half the battle is over with Salem's death," Ozpin said as he stared at me. "The Titans are still out there. Humans and Faunus have yet to be fully united and there's still the missing Summer Maiden whose power we need to get the Relic of Destruction when the time comes.

"Wait, you still want to collect the Relics? I thought bringing them together would destroy everything… including Salem, which is why she wanted them," I said.

"That will only happen if the people across the world remain divided as she had been doing her utmost to keep them with the current status quo. Now that Salem is no longer around to keep the discord between people of different species, creed or class, it will only be a matter of time before everyone is united against the remaining Grimm."

"And bringing the Relics together once everyone is united will do, what? Wipe out the rest of the Grimm instead of just everything in general?" I asked.

When Ozpin nodded, I said, "Well, I can't really help you with the whole 'uniting everyone' thing. Even if you thought of something for that, I can promise you that I wouldn't be interested. The best I can do is hunt down the Titans which I planned on getting to eventually and maybe also finding the Summer Maiden once my sensing abilities develop to a large enough scale."

"You've already done more than I could have hoped for by facilitating Salem's death."

"Hmm?" I hummed smugly, "Sounds to me like you're saying you owe me one."

"Do you have something you want?" He cut through my bullshit.

"I might after a couple weeks—" I said before stopping at the harsh knocking on the door to Ozpin's office.

Ozpin buzzed the people at the door in and it turned out to be Qrow and some blond-haired man I didn't know.

"This better not be some sick and twisted prank, Oz," Qrow grumbled as he waltzed into the room while glaring at me.

I squinted my eyes right back at him wondering what he could be mad at me for. The only thing that came to mind was his cougar sister molesting my mouth with hers, but even if there was some logic to that, it should have been my gripe with him, not the other way around!

"Is Salem really dead?" The blond man behind Qrow asked.

"Is that what this is about? Because I can assure you both that she really has been killed. I personally saw to it after Lapis took away her unkillable-ness. Her corpse has been locked down in the special detainment room," Ozpin said.

"Just like that? The ancient-most evil of the world, commander of all but the Titan Grimm and mankind's greatest enemy just died? Come on, there's got to be more to the story than that," Qrow aggressively said before taking out a flask from his chest pocket and taking a swig from it.

"The email I sent you both as well as the other Headmasters of the Huntsmen Academies had all the relevant details. Salem and her Inner Circle attacked Beacon, hoping to take back one of her captured members while also recovering the Relic of Choice and gaining leverage on what she assumed was our next Paragon. Ultimately, they failed once Lapis found out about the attack and helped me get rid of their threat permanently," Ozpin sighed, likely tired from having repeated the same points over and over again.

They looked from Ozpin to me as I shot finger guns at them to amuse myself before turning back to Ozpin with looks of doubt. "A teenager managed to do what countless people over several thousand years couldn't?"

"What does being a teenager have to do with anything?" I scoffed. "I bet a preteen could have done the same thing if they just so happened to have a similar ability as the one that ultimately made Salem vulnerable. Once you take away her immortality and absolute regeneration, Salem was about as tough as a civilian… which now that I think about it is kind of weird. Shouldn't she still have had Aura? Did she just not activate it because she wanted to die? Or did becoming a Grimm leave her a soulless husk of a person?"

"Unfortunately, we may never find out now that she's well and truly dead," Ozpin said. "That aside, Lapis' point stands uncontested. He just so happened to be strong enough and with a suitable skillset to finally kill Salem when the chance presented itself."

Before anyone could continue, a low booming noise accompanied by the floor slightly trembling brought everyone's attention to the windows where a massive airship had rapidly decelerated before dropping down to the docking station.

"I can't believe it," Qrow was wide-eyed as he stared at the sleek airship. "The madman actually brought out one of his secret project prototypes just to get here about as quickly as us. Atlas is over ten times as far as Patch is to Vale!"

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"Salem's death kind of warrants it, no?" The blond man asked. "This is the kind of thing the General would want to confirm with his own eyes as soon as possible."

"Moreover," Ozpin added, "there will be very little need for his continuous research and development into military assets now that the main instigator of conflicts around the world is gone."

"What about the Titans?" Qrow asked.

"What about them?" I sarcastically asked back. "If any of them wake up before I find them first, I'm at most only a couple minutes away from showing up pretty much anywhere on the planet. Just call me and I'll get rid of them."

"Look, kid, killing Salem is one thing but the Titans are on a whole other level. They've managed to remain unkillable even without Salem's curse. Even after being targeted by larger and more prosperous Kingdoms than the ones that exist now. Against all kinds people, armies, and Semblances," Qrow said, admonishing like a parent would towards a particularly dull child.

"I doubt they'll be a problem for me as I am right now, when I can blow up mountains with a single attack, but if it makes you feel better, I'm still far from being as strong as I can be. The longer it takes for one to wake up or for me to find one, the stronger I'll get," I rolled my eyes at him.

"Mountains?" The Qrow repeated, looking at me with clear derision and doubt.

"Relax, I haven't erased any mountains… on this continent." The same did not apply for Mental's Earth where my Cero carved through Ugh-Zan VI and continued past him. "I take care not to cause collateral damage."

"I'm not sure about mountains, but he did get rid of a few hundred Ancient Geists in about a second. So, I believe he can at least survive a direct one-on-one confrontation with any of the Titans," Ozpin said.

After the room turned quiet with Ozpin vouching for my power, it remained awkward like that for me until more knocking came from the door.

"This better not be some sick and twisted joke," a very familiar-looking white-haired woman who wasn't either Weiss or Winter Schnee said once they were buzzed into the room. Accompanying her was a very distinguished-looking James Ironwood — the Headmaster of Atlas Academy.

"No way," I mumbled as I looked between the woman and Qrow, who she had almost quoted verbatim.

The blond-haired man chuckled, "There's two of them."

"Would you like to see her corpse for yourself? I don't understand why none of you bothered to do that first before coming here, if you can't find it in yourselves to trust my word," Ozpin sighed.

"Of course, we trust you, Ozpin," Ironwood said, "It's just, something this important warrants as much verification as possible. A simple emergency alert and phone call can't possibly be enough. I need to hear about it from you directly and see the body for myself to be sure without any possible doubt."

"You guys can go do that, I'm going to head out," I said as my patience was starting to thin. I stood up, but before leaving I addressed Ozpin, saying "If my pet project works out, I want you to admit someone with a questionable background into Beacon for next year." It had only been two days, going on the third, but Jaune hadn't complained about the insane training routine I'd subjected him to and he didn't seem like he had any intention of quitting.

I looked at Qrow and said, "Also, if you could send me the details on how to get in contact with your sister, that'd be great too. The contract she guilt-tripped me into ended the moment Salem died and I want her to know she can't just bother me with her problems under any other pretenses."

"Raven… contracted you? Wait, what do you mean come bother you? You're making it sound like she can use her Semblance on you but I know for a fact that it doesn't work on just anybody," Qrow said, sounding more confused and not at all angry.

"Yeah, the whole thing happened on the same day you guys found out she was the Spring Maiden. She had one of her portals open when I came and pointed her out. After I left Beacon, she followed me into the territory between the academy and Vale. When I confronted her about following me, she went on this unhinged tirade about how you knowing her secret identity meant Salem would find out and be out to get her. So, I felt bad about outing her and offered to help her out if anyone tried to go after her for her powers."

"Now that Salem's dead and the Spring Maiden's powers aren't really needed for anything right now, there's no reason for anyone to target her. So, I want to call off our deal… and also maybe get some petty revenge for what she did to, uh— mark me with her Semblance," I said.

"What'd she do?" Qrow asked with a shit-eating grin that stretched to the point of madness. "Don't tell me…" He looked at the blond-haired man, who grew uncomfortable with the attention, before turning back at me and whispering conspiratorially, "She slept with you?"

"What? No! The hell is wrong with you? And why does the idea make you so happy?!" I was immensely creeped out by his reaction. "All she did was steal a kiss, but that's still not cool. If I saw the same unwanted act be done to a woman by a man, I would be inclined to leave him a few broken bones."

"Hahaha," Qrow was bent over by his fit of laughter, "I can't tell what's more pathetic: the lengths Raven will go to protect herself and survive or your hilarious reaction to getting a free kiss. Are you even a man?"

A part of me felt deeply insulted by his words. The overwhelming majority first wanted to know one thing before I verbally tore into him.

"Is he always this much of an asshole or is the alcohol getting to him?" I asked the others in the room who probably knew his character better than me.

"Is there ever a time when the alcohol isn't getting to him?" The white-haired woman sarcastically asked.

"There is," Ozpin cautiously said, "but he has been hitting his flask harder than usual for whatever reason. Though, I wouldn't blame his reaction entirely on how inebriated he may or may not be."

"Hey!" Qrow shouted, doing a terrible job of making a case for himself as he stumbled slightly.

"Well, in that case, then—" I looked at Qrow with mild disgust as I said, "you can go fuck yourself. If not wanting some random lady assaulting my mouth makes me less of a man to you then I don't care for your opinion or anyone who shares it."

I tried to leave the room without making it any more of a scene than it already was, but after that outburst, I probably came off as "storming out." It wasn't so much that I was bothered by his insinuation as I was annoyed with his overall demeanor. Not once since I'd met the guy had he been anything but a distant and cold jerk. I could understand wanting to keep being a part of Ozpin's group and all that entailed a secret, but he didn't have to project the attitude of a know-it-all superior.

Like, I get it. He was among the very best Huntsman in the world; top three in Vale and top five worldwide. He'd been a master in his work for longer than I'd been alive, but that was no excuse for treating me like a dimwitted child amidst everyone else. Motherfucker, I was the one who made it possible to get rid of Salem! If I said I could blow up mountains, did you really want to test me and see if I was lying? A less patient person might act on that insane power disparity between themselves and the asshole taunting them.

I, on the other hand, was above that. I was not above ignoring the flagrant disrespect and annoying attitude, but I wasn't about to kill him over it. I'd just ignore his existence and go on with my life. I mean, it's not like I really needed to interact with him to get what I wanted. I'm sure that with enough digging — and even more cheating with my Cyberdeck — I'd eventually find Raven's location if I couldn't get it through my other connections.

Right now, though, I was feeling kind of worn out from everything I'd gone through these last couple days since capturing Cinder. When I wasn't resolving Scenarios, I was either training or working. Granted, both the normal physical exercise training and my job as a cook were somewhat relaxing. But, I was never really free from the stress that came with the threat of Salem hanging over my neck. Hell, even when I was doing things that should have smoothed me temporarily — the after-work date with Velvet, the charity Gala — I'd had that imbecile, Adam Taurus, ruining everything.

After all the training, all the Scenarios, Gacha, and surprise crises that had come at me back to back, I wanted to take a breather. Today was a training day, but I wasn't really feeling up to it. So, instead of heading to the gym, I headed toward Velvet's dorm again.

Following Salem's attack, the school had obviously put a temporary halt to all their ongoing programs. With a good portion of the school damaged by the attack, there were several lecture halls that needed to be repaired. Everyone who had been attacked also needed to get checked by a doctor; the people possessed by Ancient Geists, especially. Then, there was also the memorial event that was already in the works for people who couldn't be saved from the attack.

With all that going on, none of the student body was going to be taking any classes until the start of the next week at the earliest. So, since they were available and I was worn out, I went to go hang out instead of accepting all the Gachas I had stockpiled or training as was intended by schedule.

I could always do that later.

'Except for the Alchemy stuff,' I quickly reminded myself.

I made a short detour to my apartment, offloaded a veritable ton of alchemical ingredients and catalysts and created a small squadron of clones to make Potions for me before teleporting back to Beacon. Keeping my stock of Potions as maxed out as possible to prevent another tragedy like the one I couldn't prevent today was going to be a new part of my life.

With my luck, I wouldn't be surprised if not starting that particular habit as soon as possible would force the universe into drawing a Titan out of seclusion just to spite me.